why birds? (1 Viewer)

Hello, I'm new here..


I'm not a birder, but I'm very much into environmental issues and wildlife protection. I'm wandering if I could gather some of your opinions for a project I'm doing. I'm not looking to spam your forums, or infiltrate as a non-birder, and I sincerely hope this post does not offend anyone. I've been reading these forums a while and it seems to be the most knowledgable and active I've come across, and I really hope to be able to finish this project.

I'm an art student, and my work centres on the idea of humans relating to the environment around them. I was hoping you could answer a few questions about your personal experiences birding - I hope to collate the answers anonymously (or named, if you prefer) into book-form, as part of a series of books involving different groups of people's interpretation of nature. The inclusion of birders seems all-important to me, as you all strike me as people who enjoy nature and the outdoors in a very particular and passionate way.

All I want to know is: Why specifically birds (rather than other species)? What drew you to birding, more than any other nature-related activity? What do you feel you personally get out of it? Just a few lines, or a couple of paragraphs describing why you enjoy birding. If you prefer you could describe the moment you've experienced that you feel makes it all worthwhile - spotting a rare bird for instance.




If you have any problems or queries, please please feel free to PM me. The last thing I want to do is offend anyone. I hope you'll be willing to participate!

Thankyou very much, sorry I've rambled on so long


Ayesha

To be honest I am not sure why it is birds, rather than other areas of nature that fascinate me. From the age of 1 when I wanted to go and feed the swans everyday, it has been birds that have fascinated me.

Birds way out number mammals especially here in the UK. Their variation in size, colour and behaviour could also be an attraction. There is also migrations and the rarities that turn up out the blue.

I'll be interested in seeing what others think, but I cant say why it is birds that make me tick. Maybe its just imprinted in my genes.

Hi Ayesha and welcome to Birdforum, on behalf of all the moderators and staff here.

You've posed some interesting questions there, I'm sure they'll attract many answers - I hope you're ready!

I don't think I'm just attracted to birds, it's just that birds are the most obvious signs of wildlife here. When I notice other forms of wildlife - butterflies, reptiles, mammals etc., I take notice of those too - my first sighting of a wild Otter in Wales earlier this year was a big buzz!

Why I'm drawn to birding, I don't really know. Part of me thinks it may be down to some primitive 'hunter' mentality - most people seem to have a 'farmer' mentality; they need to have everything planned out. Me, I go with the flow; distracted by all sorts of stimuli, following up on any that interest me; searching for knowledge, needing to learn something that may give me an advantage at some time perhaps.

What I get out of it may just be satisfaction that I have learned something or passed some of my knowledge and experience on to others.

I could ramble on too :t:

Cheers,

Andy.

Birds have always fascinated me since I was a child. I remember getting a buzz in primary school when I was the only one that could successfully name and identify birds in the playground. I think the reason I enjoy watching birds is the fact that they are so common and you can find them literally everywhere. I'm not a twitcher (someone who goes looking for rare birds) I just enjoy the birdlife around me and succeeding in identifying them. I have tried to switch to identifying other things like wild flowers and mammals, but I always end up coming back to the birds, I think I will love them til the day I die.

Regards,

Hi there. Im currently writing my dissertation on the history of man and nature in Britain so may be able to add something here.
The naturalist writer Tansley claimed affection for birds is a characteristic British trait. For me they are so conspicuous, easy on the eye, and have therefore attracted more legend than our mammals. I always find myself birdwatching, whether it be out in the field hoping to catch up with a rarity or just watching the garden feeders. Sometimes the rarer or more elusive the bird the more exciting it is to see, and the more priviliged you feel to be observing it. But bird behaviour in general is great to watch, and observing a new piece of behaviour for a common or garden bird is often just as pleasing. But the most exciting factor is the not knowing- migration means birds are always moving around, so a trip to your local nature reserve could turn up a returning breeder or a bird of prey on passage, you just dont know. All the more reason to get out there and find out!

jimbob said:

Hi there. Im currently writing my dissertation on the history of man and nature in Britain so may be able to add something here.

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ah! I just finished my thesis on a similar subject, the relationship between nature and culture throughout Western history.

Thankyou so much to all those who have replied, it's interesting reading your thoughts..

londonayesha said:

All I want to know is: Why specifically birds (rather than other species)?

Ayesha

Click to expand...

Why? In a few words: Their diversity, their dynamism, their mobility and their complete unpredictability |=)| .
MarkA

Hi
My fascination with birds started as a bored schoolboy sat in a high rise classroom watching the crows and Gulls cavorting on the wind and wishing I could be as free as they were.
All the best with the project.

As a young boy I was interested in all aspects of nature and particularly in mammals. I had quite a menagerie at home with all the normal "pets" from lizards, snakes, rabbits, parakeets, and pigeons (a bad word on this forum but such is life). In my teens it was the birds that drew my attention more and more, and now a good many years later it is almost exclusively wild birds that interest me. Birdwatching with me is kind of like the joke where the birder is pointing out a bird to another person - it's that little brown job in the bush just behind the lion.

Why I like them so much is hard to say; their beauty, their freedom of flight, their interesting behaviors, their diversity, the incredible adaptations species have made to "fit into their niche", their unpredictability (as well as their predictability), and the joy of finding a new one.

I love being in the outdors and birdwatching adds so much interest (almost purpose) to a walk in the country. It also motivates us to travel to new places and see new sights.

Hi Ayesha, can't understand why you´re so apologetic about asking us all this... don't you realise we just love to bang on to anyone who'll listen appreciatively about how birding is sublime? I'll try to be brief.

1. Birding combines the aesthetic enjoyment of nature with scientific study of the environment and a spiritual awareness of the universe. Or something like that. Try Gerard Manley Hopkins.
2. Birders are usually fascinated by all aspects of nature, but birds are visible. They are everywhere, all the time. Once you become aware of them, that is. (Mammals are generally hard to find and dull brown when you do find them. Trees and flowers are harder to identify and motionless. Insects are small and some bite.).
3. Birds sing, and communicate vocally with calls and the like. So do humans. (Not many other species do). Their song resonates within us, and we like to imagine we can detect emotion or meaning in it. Although that's anthropomorphic.
4. Birds are colourful, humans like to dress up to display too.
5. Birds fly. Humans have always envied that. And try to emulate it, vid. the legend of Icarus, Leonardo's hang-gliders, modern balloons, gliders, planes etc. Not one as graceful as even a clumsy bird.
6. Birds in myth and imagination are closer to the Gods. When we paint angels, we give them wings. When we paint devils, we don´t. Or maybe very small black ones, like a bat´s. Birds are totemic. This is all pretty Jungian, but I don't know if Jung had anything to say on the subject. Freud, however, argued that Birdwatchers are expressing a suppressed desire to witness their own parents copulating. Or something.
7. Birding is healthy and outdoors, it can be as physically demanding as you choose to make it without being a competitive sport with winners and losers. Although some birders get into ´lists´.
8. I believe that birders actually get an endorphin rush from seeing a bird or birds that they appreciate. Not necessarily a rarity, but a rarity that I've been looking for can put me on a high for about three days. I have no idea what in my neurology determined this.
9. Men are into the paraphenalia, all the high-tech gadgetry of binos, scopes, digi-adaptors, etc. etc. Women don't seem to give a toss as long as their binos work. Which only goes to show that women have more sense, and that gender, despite what we all believed in the seventies and eighties, is not a social construct.

I got into birding through drawing and painting as a kid. I'm sure that's very common. Also I was crap at football. I drifted out of active birding at puberty, when my hormones dictated that I had more important stuff to be getting along with. (Sometimes sneaked off with a pair of binoculars for a secret twitch, not the kind of thing you want to tell your peers between age 13 and 23. It would have appeared unseemly). Always had a casual watchful eye open for birds, though, and got back into it with a vengeance at about age 30. Now I'm 43 and obsessed, inhabiting two parallel universes. One is human, work, family, all that, the other is the avian world. They do intersect. My kids like birds too, but I try not to push it on them. My wife has become a back-garden birder through watching me, she appreciates them but doesn´t get the endorphin thing and wouldn´t go for a walk specifically to see birds.
Browse the following, from which some of the above ideas come:
'A Bird in the Bush - A social history of Birdwatching' Stephen Moss
'Why Birds Sing' - David Rothenberg
'Gripping Yarns' - Bill Oddie
'How to be a Bad Birdwatcher' - Simon ....oo-er, can't remember his surname, lent the book to someone and haven't gotten it back!
Best of Luck with your work, I hope it becomes available on-line or in book form because I'd love to read it!
Éanna

Because of their rare and striking beauty in what seems like endless variation. Somewhat like women. Now don't ask me which of the two I enjoy watching more. In my old age I am not really sure.

Birds are an easy handle onto the natural world for those of us who are interested in nature. We can see and hear most of them easily, and there is enough diversity to keep things interesting, but few enough species in any one area to keep the diversity manageable. Most can be observed during the day and don't really require too much special equipment. Most mammals are cryptic and crawl around at night. Fish stay underwater so you either need to dive or catch them. Birds also invade our urban areas at least twice a year, making it easy for people to see them.

Plus their plumages are beautiful (even first-year gulls) and they sing so sweetly in the spring and summer.

All I want to know is: Why specifically birds (rather than other species)? What drew you to birding, more than any other nature-related activity? What do you feel you personally get out of it? Just a few lines, or a couple of paragraphs describing why you enjoy birding. If you prefer you could describe the moment you've experienced that you feel makes it all worthwhile - spotting a rare bird for instance.


Hello Ayesha

A few thoughts:

I like thinking about birds having no borders. To a migrating bird, a lake is a lake is a lake. I say this because we live in close proximity to a Great Lake (Lake Ontario), with the American border running through it. It's just been announced that the U.S. Coast Guard, for the first time since a Canada/U.S. non-armament treaty was signed 150 years ago, has been given permission to mount machine guns on their boats, in order "to increase border security". At least they can't stop the birds. On our sailboat last year, we gave a lift to a little yellow warbler who hitched a ride to get to the northern shore. He arrived mid-lake, and sat quite happily on the stern rail, leaving us exactly at the point where we were closest to wooded shore. That's another reason I like to watch them - they aren't stupid. (By the way, if anyone wants to see a picture of this little guy, let me know and I will post it)

Another reason why I like to bird, or nature watch - the absence of incoherent noise and confused visual imagery. We keep our sailboat in a conservation area (it's actually been declared an Important Bird Area), tied up to a mooring ball in the middle of the bay. It's only a 15 minute drive from downtown, but may as well be 2 hours north. On the boat in the bay, sounds have meaning, or coherency. Bird song; the squeak of an oar-lock; the flap of a sail; halyards slapping in a rising wind; these sounds provide the brain with the rest that cannot be found downtown amidst all the engines, firetrucks, music. By rest, I mean that the brain, by deciphering all sounds as "known", can really allow all our systems to stand down. It's the same with visual imagery, for me, anyway. No billboards is heaven.

Cathryn

All of the above biologically and esthetically. I've also met some fine people while birding. One different thing though----- birding and photography really "Slowed" me down the last 2 decades or so, hence I've noticed more things (about everything). From other wildlife and plants, to cultures, landscapes, etc. I used to be more of the school of, "See how much I could in a limited amount of time." Getting more into birding really slowed things down on many levels. My wife and I have done some primarily, "Birding" trips abroad. They usually end up being many things. I guess I'm not nearly as Hard Core as some. Deep down there is something special about birds though. They seem more reptilean to me every day, especially the Scrubjays in my back yard. Hopefully this July will find us messing with Red Nobbed Hornbills and eggs incubating in volcanic sand. I'm sure I'll be sitting on a log for hours taking it all in - as opposed to hiking to the top of the highest mountain in the shortest amount of time to get one more view. I'll get stung by more ants though.

thankyou all for your responses, they've been interesting to read, and will be a huge help with my project. I'll let you know how I get on.

Meanwhile, if anyone else wants to contribute, feel free!

thanks once again,



a
xx

This has been touched on above, but I will add my two-penn'orth.

1) Birds are (mostly) diurnal - they are visible.

2) Birds are everywhere: it doesn't require any effort to see at least some birds.

3) They come in convenient numbers: not so few that to see every species in a region is ludicrously easy, and not so many that it is daunting.

4) Many bird species are sufficiently easy to identify that the beginner doesn't give up in frustration, but some are difficult enough to provide us with an on-going challenge. (Hence, in part, these boards!)

5) The equipment and knowledge required to start is very basic. At the very simplest level, all that is needed is a window to look out of. But, one can get more technical as one wishes at one's own pace.

6) It appeals to the 'collecting instincts' in many people - hence the pre-occupation with lists and 'ticks'. To add to this, there is also the competitive aspect - the race to see the first rarity, or to have the longest life list.

This does, I am afraid, make it sound rather an unworthy activity founded on base motives - I don't mean it to, but the rather more worthwhile reasons for birding have been touched upon already and rather better than I could manage.

londonayesha said:

thankyou all for your responses, they've been interesting to read, and will be a huge help with my project. I'll let you know how I get on.

Meanwhile, if anyone else wants to contribute, feel free!

thanks once again,



a
xx

Click to expand...

Forgot one point. Birding can be combined with lots of other activities. Because bird area ubiquitous, it dovetails nicely with walking, hill-walking, mountaineering, boating, yachting, or sitting on yer arse looking out the window. A lot of birders get into flowers, butterflies, reptiles, or archaeology as well, because the fieldcraft techniques required are similar. Don't forget to keep us posted on how your thesis goes. We'd love to see it, even if you decide we're insane. Believe me, we can take it, there's no abuse we can be given that we haven't already taken

For me birds are never boring. I don't have to keep them as pets to enjoy them. They draw me out of the house--away from the keyboard. They give me something to focus my eyes and ears on whenever I'm outside. They don't want to be found so I have to look carefully; this brings out the inner hunter in me, but without the killing. Birds are beautiful, and while most people are seeking out fear, stress, and ugliness of all sorts, the birder actively seeks out beauty and grace.

Bird's just stimulate all the aspects of myself that I like. The hunter in me (stalkin my 'prey') The spy in me (using binoculars/scopes and listening in on bird songs/calls) The photographer/artist in me (birds give me something to focus my photography and art skills on) The nature lover in me (being out in nature) The computer geek in me (working with cool digital imaging software like photoshop, in a fashion thats often similar to how police detectives work tryin to ID suspects, etc) And they also stimulate the scholar in me (studying Ornithology) and so on.

And best of all, anywhere I go, even if just to the kitchen window, I can see birds. Whereas cows are boring to me, and wild animals, would require a specific trip to go find them. I could go on but that's the main reasons I love birding. It brings me excitement or peacefulness, or whatever I want it to bring me, on any given day. 8-P

Birdwatching is very accomodating from a geographical point of view. If you want to watch nature you have to be selective. I've always admired elk,buffalo and bighorned sheep. To observe them with rugularity I would need to be in the American west.I live in a bird specie rich area as do many people all over the world. Birds are easy everybody has them to see.
Sam

Dear Ayesha,

I have lived an urban existence for most of my life, except for some time in the Navy. When I lived in Brooklyn, I enjoyed looking at the night sky with binoculars: finding planets, announced comets, splitting double stars. When I returned to Manhattan, 2.5 kilometers from well lit Times Square, this activity was greatly reduced by the notorious light pollution, like Picadilly Circus, only worse. A little more than two years, I took a binocular along for a walk in nearby Central Park, where I followed some bird watchers to a tree which had five long eared owls, an uncommon bird. This was the start of following this avocation.
In one major respect, my interest in astronomy was the same as my interest in bird watching: an attempt to connect with the natural world. The dozens of species, which I have seen, are proof that I am not only part of the concrete and asphalt world of the city. My walks keep me in touch with the seasonal changes, not just the migrations of birds. I note what flowers bloom early, which trees bud first. Although I like to see colourful birds, finding those birds which blend into their backgrounds has a double interest: I note their adaptations and I enjoy finding them. Birds also present a great variety of species, without much effort.

My favourite moment in bird watching may have been seeing a great egret catch a crayfish, crunch on it, swallow and seeing the bulge in the egret's neck as it went down. Recently, I met a wild hen turkey. These are the sorts of natural events that rivals finding Titan in a binocular and reduce the alienation that urban living may engender.

Birds may provide a colourful attraction as well as a great variety of species. I have gone as far away as 20 kilometers, by tube, to see a greater variety, but I was still in New York City. At my level, this is a very inexpensive pastime, filled with small surprises.

I might note that I detested biology in school and had a mediocre grade in the subject, so this interest has arisen in spite of my miseducation.

Good luck on your project,
Arthur Pinewood :scribe: